Control-lever-locking device.



J. W. BOULT.

. CONTROL LEVER-LOOKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1912.

. 1,083,793, Patented Jan.6, 1914.

' WITNESSES: INVENTOI? ATTORNEYS;

ZEQNC'ITRQL-LEVER-LOCKING DEVICE Specification of Letters Patent. r

Patented J an. 6, 1914.

ap lication med August a, 1912,. Serial No. 714,046.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

lBe known that l, JAn'rns W. Boer/r, a eltizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and Stateof Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Control- Lever-Locking Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

' This invention relates to the class of locks and latches,- and more especially to lifting latches having a hooked end; and the object of the same is to provide means for latching the control lever of an automobile in its neutral position, and locking the free or outer end of the latch so that ithe owner may leave his machine and no unauthorized person can run it. This object i carried out by constructing the latch in a p tculiar manner best adapted for the control 1 ver, and preferably by using it in connection with a pcculiar form of lockall as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the quadrant and control lever of an automobile, with my improvement applied thereto; and Fig; 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the loo i In the drawings the letter L designates the usual control lever pivoted at P and swinging within a quadrant Q mounted within reach of the automobile driver this lever ordinarily moving in an H-shaped slot in the face of the quadrant and being so connected with the transmission mechanism that when it stands upright or at the neutral point within said slot as shown in the drawings the engine] is entirely disconnected from the driving shaft and the automobile cannot be run.

- The object of the present invention is to provide a latch capable of attachment to levers of this character and v the quadrants thereof, both of which are now made in a variety of sizes and shapes by the diiferent manufacturers.

Coming now more particularly to the present invention, the numeral 1 designates a sleeve secured around the lever L in any suitable manner just above the quadrant, as

by rivets or bolts 2, beyond which ithasa pair of eyes in which at 3 is pivoted a latch which 1 preferably make in two members so I quadrant to which the device is to be attached. The innermost member 4 has an' open or slotted body as shown and a head 5 at its outerend piercedwith a threaded hole, and the outermost member 6 is threaded as at 7 so as to be adjustable in the hole in the head 5, a jam nut 8 being run up against sa d head to hold the outer member when it 18 adjusted. A spring 9 of suitable form throws this latch normally upward as seen in dotted lines and a conveni'ent form of-spring would be to make it of spring wire with a coil at its mid-length which could surround one of the rivets 2, although I do not wis to be limited in this particular.

The outer end of the latch member is made insuc'h shape that it will engage some fixed part, preferably mounted on the quadrant Q.

y I prefer to hook the outer end of thelever as shown at 10, by bending it sharply downward at a right angle and forming its extremity with an arrow head 11, and in connection with such head I provide crossed members 12 pivoted at 13 where they cross and having hooks or jaws 14 adapted to engage the arrow head 11, the jaws being normally drawn together by a spring 15. Be,- tween the lower arms or ends of said members may be disposed an ordinary tumbler lock 16 which can be turned only by the use of a proper key inserted through the key hole 17 shown in Fig. 1, as well known in the art.

The lock casing 18 is mounted on some fixed support such as an ear 19 at one cornor of the quadrant Q.

it-h this construction of fastening device and lock, the former is attached to the lever by fastening the sleeve 1 around it and riveting it thereon as at 2, after which the members of the fastener are adjusted so that the hook 10 stands directly over the center of the lock casing. The latter is mounted upon an ear 19 at the corner of the. quadrant or secured thereto in any suitable way, taking care that it stands directly under the ar- "row head 11 of the fastener when-the latter is thrown downward as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. When the'operator drives .up to the curb and desires to leave his automobile,

he has but to depress the free upper end of into theupper end of the casing 18- and en tersbetw'een the aws 14; which yield as the spring 15 will permit, coming to rest as shown in Fig. 2. The driver then goes into the house or store, and on his return he inserts a key into the hole 17 and turns the tumblers 16 so that the lower arms of the crossed members 12 are spread apart and the jaws are also caused to spread apart and release the arrow head 11; whereupon the spring 9 immediately throws the fastener upward from the full lined position in Fig. 1 to the dotted lined position, and the lever L is free so that it can be moved to control the action of the automobile as usual.

The parts of this device are by preference made entirely of metal of the proper size andfinish.

I do not Wish. to be limited to the formation of the ear 19 as an integral part of the quadrant, for it is quite obvious that it might be attached thereto, the same as the sleeve 1 is attached to the lever, or in fact the ear could be attached to some other part of the-automobile if desired. elaborated details of the locking mechanism, although the arrangement of crossed members 12 pivoted where they cross as at 13 Nor have I and having jaws 14 normally thrown together by the spring 15 is one which would work successfully with a fastener having an arrow head ll-as shown.

What is claimed as new is:

The combination with an automobile control lever, and its quadrant having an ear projecting from one corner;'of a'lock includ ing an upright casing mounted on said ear, a sleeve secured to the control lever just above the face of the quadrant, an inner member pivotally connected at one end to said sleeve and adapted to be turned up alongside the lever, an outer member having its outer end turned downward and provided with an arrow head adapted to engage said lock when the leverstands upright, and means for adjusting the point of connection between said members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto setmy hand in presence of two subscribing wit-,

nesses.

JAMES W. BOULT.

Witnesses E. D. BROWNE, OSCAR LUNDGREN. 

